Episode 32 – Inspired by Acute Nasopharyngitis

Caught a cold and feeling sick? No problem! Atley Jonas has some inspirational chicken soup, hot and ready to serve up. Listen in to get 10 tips on how to stay motivated and inspired, even when you’re feeling under the weather.

Podcast available via direct RSS feed –> HERE, or via iTunes –> HERE.

Show Notes:

Atley Jonas’s Top 10 List of Ways to Keep Inspired and Motivated Even If You Have a Cold

Number 1. Simplify your menu. A large pot of stew, or a good batch of chili are great when I have a cold. They’re super-easy and quick to make, don’t require a lot of planning and prep, and they taste decent even when I’m well, so if there’s some left when my sense of smell returns, I can enjoy it all the more.

Number 2. Enjoy a hot toddy made with whiskey. Or two. Or three.

Number 3. Research and try out some home remedies… and try them out. So just Google search the terms: common cold home remedies. And you’re in for a wild ride. Try some of the suggestions (within reason, of course). You might be pleasantly surprised.

Number 4. Go shopping. Make a list of supplies you’ll need to concoct some of the home remedies you want to try from Number 3. What does that have to do with inspiration or motivation? Simple. When I have a cold, the LAST thing I want to do, is go out and buy supplies, or groceries. But by making a list of home remedy ingredients that I want to try, I’m motivated to get out of the house, and actually buy them, and since I’m already out buying this stuff, I am motivated to pick up some of the regular things I would if I were healthy, and even do some other chores I need to get done, whether I’m feeling sick or not.

Number 5. Clean yourself up a bit before you go shopping. If you LOOK good, you’ll FEEL good. It’s good to look decent when you go out, so take a nice, hot shower, and steam by the way, does WONDERS for clearing up the sinuses and nasal passages, put on some nice clothes, and head out to go get what you need.

Number 6. Get caught up on your TED Talks. Since you’re already on the couch with a box of tissues and covered with a blanket, why not watch some inspirational speakers through TED Talks? My personal, all-time favourite TED speaker is Sir Ken Robinson talking about learning in 2006. If you have never watched it, you truly owe it to yourself, because it’s nothing short of life-changing.

Number 7. Read a good book. Sometimes it’s just easy to forget the great reads we might have on our list. And the brilliant part about reading when you have a cold, is that you can mix it in with some well-placed naps in between. Sometimes I’ll just sit or lie in bed or on the sofa with a good book, read for a while until I start to feel tired, take a nap for a little while, then pick up the book again and read some more. It’s super-relaxing, and a great way to regain some of the energy you lose when you’re not feeling well.

Number 8. Get caught up on things you wouldn’t otherwise have time to do. A good one is clearing up email clutter.Try using Mailstrom. It’s an online app, that helps bring order to your Gmail inbox. And it’s designed in the most clever way, that will help you make short, painless work (painless being the operative word here) out of achieving a zero inbox. You can painlessly go through literally thousands of email messages in a very short amount of time in a safe way that you won’t regret later on by accidentally deleting something important or anything like that.

Number 9. Get ready for wellness. For me, that means, doing the laundry, ironing shirts and slacks, and other general housekeeping. Add some things to your to-do list for when you are feeling better. But again, with moderation — you don’t want to start feeling overwhelmed.

Number 10. Outsource and delegate. Take a look at sites like fiverr.com, or elance.com, or odesk.com, or even Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. But even locally, many places like grocery stores, department stores, and other local shops are happy to provide low-cost or even free deliveries.

Need another source of inspiration? Try the Good Life Project. This is a series of 40-minute TV shows produced by Jonathan Fields, on the topic of inspiration and motivation. I also read the Good Life Project Creed on this week’s show…

Like this? Learn to build a better life at Good Life Project.